A Sacrifice
by fellytone
Summary: An account of the night Lily and James Potter died. Rewritten as a companion piece to Priori Incantatem.


A Sacrifice

Disclaimer: Anything you recognize belongs to JK Rowling. Some of the dialog in this story is from _Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban_, chapters 9 and 12

"It is our choices ... that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." – Albus Dumbledore, _Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets_

October 31, 1981

Godric's Hollow 

A Halloween rainstorm raged outside as Lily and James Potter lay together on the sofa in their little stone cottage, their hands tightly clasped. They'd spent every evening like this since coming to Godric's Hollow; no matter what plans they'd made or what needed to be done, Lily and James always seemed to end up lying together on the sofa for hours, lost in thought and holding onto each other for dear life. Though they never talked about it, they were both fully aware that this night, that any of these nights, could be their last night together, and that by tomorrow either or both of them could be dead.

When Lord Voldemort was after you, you had very little time left, though no one knew for sure how much. At least, that was the general belief in the wizarding world: nothing could stop this powerful Dark wizard who had already killed so many and would not hesitate to kill more. If he wanted you dead, it was only a matter of time before he got his wish.

The wind howled outside, its wailing the only sound in the room as Lily and James clung together desperately, each of them secretly wondering whether this night would be the last one.

BANG!

Suddenly the front door swung open of its own accord, causing both of them to whip around in fright. And there, framed in the doorway, red eyes glowing triumphantly, stood Lord Voldemort.

James and Lily jumped up as Voldemort advanced into the entryway, his chilling, high-pitched laugh filling the room. Quickly, James pushed Lily towards the staircase.

"Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off-" Lily stumbled awkwardly toward the staircase and her son, praying that it would all prove to be some sort of horrible nightmare -

"Avada Kedavra!"

"No!" Lily spun around at those words to see her husband lying dead on the floor, his eyes wide and staring.

And in that instant, Lily knew it wasn't a nightmare. She felt her heart break with one tiny, final snap as she stared down at what had once been James Potter, the love of her life and former bane of her existence, in disbelief and despair.

Voldemort too stood over James' body, still laughing his bone-chilling cackle, and Lily was jolted back to the present. Harry. She had to keep Harry safe. Without another word, Lily turned and ran up the stairs faster than she had ever run in her life. She had to get to Harry before Voldemort did.

Lily reached Harry's room and bent over the baby. Harry had been awakened by the commotion below and was whimpering softly. Lily cradled her son protectively against her as she frantically racked her brain for some way to protect him from Voldemort, but her mind was blank. She could hear footsteps in the hall as Voldemort walked slowly and deliberately toward the nursery door. Sobs wracked Lily's body as she realized that she was defenseless. There was no time to run, and she had no way of protecting either herself or her son from James' fate.

The nursery door blew open and Lily burst into a fresh panic.

" Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!"

Voldemort merely laughed. "Stand aside, you silly girl…stand aside, now…" he hissed, stepping closer.

"Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead-" Lily pleaded. As she said the words, something sparked inside Lily's brain. There was a way to save Harry. Now if only she could remember…it was something she had heard once…at Hogwarts…but what? Again Lily begged:

"Not Harry! Please…have mercy…have mercy…" Lily sobbed the words now, but Voldemort only laughed harder, thoroughly amused by Lily's efforts.

And then it hit her. She could save Harry.

Lily remembered back to her last year at Hogwarts, her last spring there. Every day more and more Hogwarts students had received Ministry owls notifying them of the deaths of their families at the hands of Voldemort and his followers. Every day the classes grew smaller and smaller as more students returned home grief-stricken or went into hiding.

It had been their last Charms lesson. Professor Flitwick had taken stock of his ever-shrinking class and sighed, a mournful, defeated sound.

"I am truly sorry," he had said, "that you must leave the relative safety of Hogwarts for such a world, that there isn't a brighter future to offer you. Every day more innocent people die and You Know Who and his followers gain more ground."

Lily had been surprised; it was unlike Professor Flitwick to be so dispirited. Tentatively, she had raised her hand. "But there must be something we can do, isn't there?" she had asked. "I mean, if you want badly enough to save someone, there must be a way to do it."

"Well, Lily," Flitwick had said thoughtfully, "I suppose there is one thing we can do." The professor had hesitated, clearly unsure if he should continue. "If a person wants badly enough to save someone, wants it above even their own life, then there is something they can do. They can protect that person with love."

Professor Flitwick's words echoed through Lily's head, drowning out Voldemort's derisive laughter as he raised his wand.

"Stand aside," he repeated contemptuously.

"No."

The word seemed to resonate through the room. Voldemort's snakelike eyes narrowed in fury, but Lily wasn't afraid of him anymore. She knew what she had to do.

Once again, Flitwick's words echoed through Lily's head.

"_If you love a person enough, if their life is worth more to you than your own, or anything else in the world……"_

Lily tightened her arms around Harry, who was wailing in fright.

"_Then you can protect them with the most ancient, most pure form of magic."_

Slowly, she turned and lowered Harry into his cot.

"You can protect them with love-" 

Lily pressed a kiss to Harry's forehead, whispering goodbye softly in his ear.

"And that love will save them from harm, no matter how powerful the danger" 

Lily squared her shoulders and turned again to face Voldemort.

"Because love is magic in its most basic, most powerful form" 

Voldemort did not hesitate as he once again raised his wand and pointed it directly at Lily's heart.

"_If you are willing to sacrifice yourself so that someone else may live, you can save them."_

"Avada Kedavra!"

"And the power of that sacrifice is so strong…" 

Lily stared in horror at the bolt of green light rushing toward her. Behind her, Harry cried, but she no longer feared for him. He was safe. He would live.

As the rush of green light hit her and she went to join James, the rest of Professor Flitwick's words echoed through Lily's head and she knew that they had won, that Voldemort had not defeated them after all.

"…_its protection will remain with them forever."_


End file.
